Skirt marking device



Sept. 4, 1951 H. G. BOOTH SKIRT MARKING DEVICE Filed Sept. 20, 1949 22 INVENTOR Herbert 01300255 ATTOR W NEYS Patented Sept. 4, 1951 SKIRT MAR-KING DEVICE Herbert G. Booth, Harrison, N. Y., assignor to David Traum Company, Incorporated, a corporation of New York Application September 20, 1949, Serial No. 116,710

9 Claims.

This invention relates to marking devices and more particularly to a skirt marking assembly.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a skirt marking assembly that is neat, compact and rugged in construction having but few inexpensive parts, none of which is likely to get out of order and which lends itself readily to quantity production, that may readily be used by an unskilled housewife, without the use of pins which might cause injury to the person and without danger of injury to or soiling of the dress, and by use of which both the desired length of the dress and the width of the hem can be marked in but a single operation.

According to the invention these objects are accomplished by the arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the skirt marking assembly,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on a larger scale taken along line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the clamp jaw in dot and dash lines in open position,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on a larger scale, taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and I Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clamp jaw.

Referring now to the drawings, the skirt marking assembly as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a base I0 carrying an upright support ll, desirably a yard stick having appropriate scale markings thereon preferably distributed longitudinally along the center thereof, the scale markings including numerals each desirably having trans verse lines [2 associated therewith and a marking device l3 slidably mounted on said yardstick.

The marking device I3, which desirably is of sheet metal although it could be of plastic, comprises a backing member I 4 preferably channel shaped, having side walls l6 which straddle yardstick II, the latter serving as a track for backing member l4. Desirably the lower edge I! of the backing member [4 has a notch I8 therein preferably in the center thereof to afford a clear view of any numeral on the yardstick with the associated transverse lines l2 of which the edge I! may be aligned.

In order to retain backing member l4 in any desired position of adjustment on yardstick II, a pair of transversely aligned ears I9 and 20 are provided, preferably integral respectively with side walls 16 near the lower ends thereof, lying in the same plane therewith and extending beyong the back of yardstick I I.

Ears l9 and 20 are provided with aligned openings 2i and 22 therethrough respectively, through which extends a carriage bolt 23, opening 22 be ing square-as shown to conform to the square portion 24 of carriage bolt 23 near the head 25 thereof, thereby to prevent the bolt from turning. A wing nut 21 is provided on the threaded end 28 of bolt 23 extending through opening 2! beyond ear l9, which wing nut when tightened will move side walls 16 and ears l9 and 20 toward each other, tightly to grip the sides 29 of the yardstick, thereby holding the backing member M in place. As only the sides of the yardstick are gripped, there will be no danger of the markings on the face thereof being scratched or 0bliterated.

The lower end of the face 30 of backing member M has a pair of cars 3| struck out therefrom slightly above the lower edge I'l thereof and transversely aligned thereon, by means of which an arm 32 is pivotally connected to the backing member l4. Arm 32 has on each side of its substantially rectangular portion 33 near the lower edge 34 thereof, a rearwardly extending car 35, which ears 35 straddle ears 3|, and a pivot pin 36 headed at each end extends through said ears 3| and 35 to form the pivotal connection, edge I"! desirably extending beyond edge 34 a sufiicient distance so that the notch 18 and the numeral on the yardstick associated therewith will be exposed to View.

Arm 32 is channel shaped along the major part of its length above rectangular portion 33 thereof to form clamp jaw 38, which by reason of the stiffness afforded by such channel construction may be made of much thinner and lighter metal stock than if a fiat clamp member were employed. Clamp jaw 33 has a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse marking openings or slots 39 in the face 4| thereof, said slots 39 preferably extending across the entire face 4| with the ends 40 of each of said slots 39 terminating as notches in the associated edges 43 of the side walls 42 of the clamp jaw 38. Face 4| is of such width that when clamp jaw 38 is moved, in the manner hereinafter described, to juxtaposition with the upper portion of backing member l4, side walls 42 of clamp jaw 38 will straddle side walls 16 of the backing member l4 with the face 4| of clamp jaw 38 resting on the face 30 of member I4 and with the inner extremitie M of the notches 40 between as shown in Figs. 1, 2 andB.

extending past the adjacent edge 31 of the backing member I4.

Base which supports the yardstick and marking device I 3 thereon may be of any suitable construction and illustratively comprises a pair of identical substantially U-shaped brackets 41, between the recessed portions 49 of which the lower end of the yardstick I2 may be clamped with the outstretched legs 55 of the brackets providing a firm and stable support.

The calibrations on the yardstick which illustratively are in inches, and the distance from the lower edge I! of backing member I4 to the uppermost slot 39" in arm 32, are so correlated that the value indicated by the lowermost marking on the yardstick which illustratively is one inch from the end thereof, is equal to said distance.

Thus, for example, if the said distance is seven inches the lowermost marking would be seven. Consequently when said lower edge I! of backing member I4 is aligned with a transverse line I2 associated with one of the numerals on the yardstick, the uppermost slot 39 in arm 32 will be that distance above the floor which is indicated by such numeral.

The main purpose and use of the assembly is to make marks around the lower portion of a skirt while on the person or on a model, at uniform distances from the floor, so that the skirt may be of the-desired length and, if desired, also to mark the lower part of the skirt so that a hem of the same width all around may be made.

The wearer of the skirt stands adjacent the upright marking device with the bottom of the skirt positioned between the backing member [4 and the clamp jaw 38 of the marking device l3 which is positioned on the yardstick so that transverse slot 39 is at the selected height above the floor to indicate the desired dress length.

The clamp jaw 38 is then moved against the backing member [4 clamping the skirt there- A line may then be drawn with a conventional piece of tailors chalk or wax, in the transverse slot 39. If desired, a second mark may be drawn through a slot 39 below the first slot 3%, to mark the width of the hem. As the slots 39 are illustratively one inch apart, it is apparent that a hem of one, two or three inches may be marked. It is of course to be understood that the slots 39 could be other distances apart and more or less could be provided.

By reason of the side walls l6 and 42 of the nested channels of the backing member l4 and clamp jaw 38 respectively the skirt will be folded away from the slots 39 and notches 40 as shown in Fig. 3. Thus there is no need to take pains in moving the chalk only the length of the slot, for even if the chalk should go beyond the slot, as the portion of the skirt on each side thereof is normally moved away therefrom, there is no likelihood of a mark being made thereon which might be misleading to the dressmaker or tailor.

As the slots 39 extend'across the entire face 4| of the clamp jaw 38, as shown in Fig. 1, a chalk edge wider than the device may be used. Such chalk edge can readily be introduced at one end of the slot and drawn across in a bold troke for adequate pressure directly against the garment fabric to make a clear line by the reaction of the chalk against the firm base afforded by the uninterrupted face 30 of the backing member l4, without interference by the thickness of the clamp metal, as would occur if the slots were 4 shorter in length, and without breaking or powdering with resultant soilage of the dress which would occur if the chalk were passed over the relatively sharp end of such shorter slot.

The procedure above described is repeated at intervals along the circumference of the skirt and when this is completed, the skirt has been marked both for length and for width of the hem with a double row of marks around the skirt, each row uniformly distant from the floor and effected in an accurate and speedy manner.

It will be observed that after the proper distance is located on the skirt and the clamp jaw moved against the backing member, the skirt is firmly held at the proper marking point and it is immaterial whether the device is positioned on the floor or whether it is lifted to more readily effect the marking.

As the pivotal connection between backing member l4 and arm 32 is set at substantially the lower end of the device, it is apparent that the device can be used to mark even a very long dress.

It is within the scope of the invention from its broader aspects, to dispense with the backing member, and removably to apply the clamp member 38 with the transverse slots therein constructed as above described to the yardstick H by pressing it thereagainst so as to straddle the latter with the fabric of a skirt clamped therebetween to be marked as previously described.

.Asmany changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a skirt marking assembly comprising a support, a base therefor to hold said support in upright position, a backing member slidably mounted on said support, means to retain said backing member in adjusted position on said support, an arm pivotally connected near the lower end of said backing member, said arm having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection having side walls adapted to straddle said support when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said arm having a transverse marking slot in said channel portion thereof, whereby when said channel shaped portion is moved into juxtaposition with said support, a line may be drawn through said slot upon a skirt clamped therebetween.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said scale markings are in the center of said support and the end of said backing member has a notch therein to afford a clear view of that marking which is aligned with the lower edge of said backing member.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1 in which said slot extends across the entire face of said channel-shaped portion and terminates as a notch in the edge of at least one side wall thereof adjacent said slot.

4. A skirt marking assembly comprising a support, a base therefor to holdsaid support in upright position, a channel shaped backing member slidably mounted on said support, means to retain said backing member in adjusted position on said support, an arm pivotally connected to said backing member near the lower end thereof, said arm having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection having side Walls adapted to straddle said channel shaped backing member when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said channel portion of said arm having a transverse slot therein, whereby when said channel shaped portion of said arm is moved into juxtaposition with said channel shaped backing member, a line may be drawn through said transverse slot upon a skirt clamped therebetween.

5. A skirt marking assembly comprising a support, a base therefor to hold said support in upright position, a channel shaped backing member slidably mounted on said support, means to retain said backing member in adjusted position on said support, an arm pivotally connected to said backing member near the lower end thereof, said arm having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection with side walls adapted to straddle said channel shaped backing member when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said channel portion of said arm having a transverse slot therein extending across the entire face thereof and terminating as a notch in the edge of the side wall thereof adjacent said slot, whereby when said channel shaped portion of said arm is moved into juxtaposition with said channel shaped backing member a line may be drawn through said transverse slot across the entire width of said channel shaped portion of said arm upon a skirt clamped therebetween.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse slots are provided in the channel portion of said arm.

7. A skirt marking device comprising a support having scale markings thereon distributed longitudinally thereof, a base therefor to hold said support in upright position, a backing member on said support, means to retain said backing member in adjusted position on said support, an arm pivotally connected near the lower end of said backing member, said arm having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection with side walls adapted to straddle said support when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said channel portion of said arm having a transverse marking slot therein, whereby when said channel shaped portion is moved into juxtaposition with said support a line may be drawn through said transverse slot upon a skirt clamped therebetween, said scale markings on said support and the distance from the lower edge of said backing member to said marking slot being so correlated that the value indicated by the lowermost marking on the support is equal to said distance, whereby with said lower edge aligned with one of the scale markings on said support, the slot in said arm will be that distance above the floor which is indicated by said marking.

8. As an article of manufacture a skirt marking device comprising a channel shaped backing member, whereby said member may be slidably mounted on a track therefor, means on said member to retain it in adjusted position on said track, an arm pivotally connected to the lower end of said backing member, said arm having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection with side walls adapted to straddle said channel shaped backing member when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said channel portion of said arm having a transverse slot therein extending across the entire face thereof and terminating as notches in the edges of the side walls thereof adjacent said slot, whereby when said channel shaped portion of said arm is moved in juxtaposition with said channel shaped backing member, a line may be drawn through said transverse slot across the entire width of said channel shaped portion of said arm upon a skirt clamped therebetween.

9. As an article of manufacture a skirt marking assembly comprising a channel shaped backing member, a pair of transversely aligned ears integral with at the lower end of and lying in the plane of the respective side wall of said channel shaped member, said ears each having aligned openings therethrough, one of said openings being irregular in shape, a carriage bolt extending through said openings, having an irregular portion near the head thereof complementary with and positioned in said irregular opening to prevent rotation of said bolt, and a nut on the threaded end of said bolt extending through the other opening, an arm pivotally connected to said backing member near the lower end thereof, said am having a channel shaped portion above said pivotal connection with side walls adapted to straddle said channel shaped backing member when said arm is moved into juxtaposition thereto, said channel portion of said am having a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse slots therein, each extending across the entire face thereof and terminating as notches in the edges of the side walls thereof adjacent said slot, whereby when said channel REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,577,943 Woodley W Mar. 23, 1926 2,237,968 Moore Apr. 8, 1941 2,446,319 Orthwin Aug. 3, 1948 2,502,287 Stewart Mar. 28, 1950 

